Summer Review: West Coast Standouts

The West Coast Elite program brought a lot of good players to Springfield, VA for the Middle School Championship Series and throughout the weekend, their roster of talented prospects all stood out in their route to the championship. Jaylin Conrad showed the type of impact he can have on both ends of the floor whenever he was in the game for West Coast Elite. He showed off an impressive scoring package for his age and he was tough to defend whenever the ball was in his hands. On the defensive end, he never took a possession off and slowed down some of the better prospects from the 2027 class that were attendance at the tournament. 

Terry McKinney III had a dominant showing in front of us multiple times in Las Vegas, NV for The Las Vegas Jr. Big Time Tournament. Each time he was on the floor, you got lot of production from him on both ends of the court. He is versatile for his size which allowed him to score the ball in a variety of ways offensively. However, his most impressive moments might have been from the defensive end where his leaping ability and timely efforts helped him to be one of the better rim protectors we saw during our time in Vegas. 

Kyle Sanders immediately stood out when Prep Hoops Next walked into Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, NV for The Las Vegas Jr. Big Time Tournament because of his size for a rising freshman at six-foot-six. Still with a lot of time to improve his overall game, it is important to note that Sanders is fairly new to competitive basketball. He plays hard each possession on offense and defense and is already impacting the game at a high level. He is a consistent scorer over small defenders and is best with his back to the basket. Defensively he is altering shots at a rapid pace and grabbing rebounds on both ends of the floor. Sanders is a name to monitor at west as he is set to enter high school in the fall.

We did not see many better shooters, if any from the 8th grade division in Las Vegas, NV at the One Six than Ashton Shewell. Whenever the Utah native shot the ball, everybody in the gym thought there was a strong chance he would make the basket. It did not matter what the score was, Shewell would shoot whenever he had the opportunity and he would let the defense know about it if he connected on a shot. Shewell has good size standing at six-foot-one which should help him translate well to the next level as he is set to enroll into high school this fall in Utah. As Shewell continues to add more to his game to go along with his shot making capabilities, Shewell will be a name to know sooner rather than later in Utah.

DJ Spencer was always a valuable teammate to his Vegas Elite Basketball Club no matter win or lose. Spencer helped his team squeak out a three point win against a tough playing Team Spartans group in Las Vegas, NV at The Las Vegas Jr. Big Time Tournament. Spencer showed off his advanced skill and scoring package throughout the game and was ultimately the difference maker for Vegas Elite. He got a lot of points from the free throw line as he has a strong ability of drawing fouls. On the defensive end he can also be placed at different positions because of his size. As Spencer continues to work on his speed and quickness, that will be another development that helps take his game to another level.